Access Issues in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Climbers’ Access Page

In Pennsylvania, with so many climbing areas, it’s no wonder that many access issuesplague the state. With well over 400 areas to climb, a great percent of these climbing areas are closed to climbing, on private lands with no formal climbing management plan, or just highly access sensitive. Many issues that arise at statewide areas include: poor communication with landowners, no communication with landowners, damage to natural resources, falcon nesting and closures, trespassing, poor land stewardship. Of course, many other factors exist.

When climbing at areas throughout the state, it is important to know what access concerns exist, land ownership, and rules and regulations that govern these areas. If you are unsure of access issues and ownership of crags; consult locate climbers. Most locals can inform you of restrictions, rules and ownerships.

Local climbing organizations are a great asset in Pennsylvania. Getting involved with these groups is an excellent idea and can be beneficial to yourself, the climbing community, and land managers. A few local climbing organizations in Pennsylvania advocate climbing and protecting natural resources throughout individual regions of the state. There is a list of links on this page to get you in touch with these groups and organizations.

The Access Fund has been a major asset to the state and it’s crags for a long time. This national organization has been extremely active throughout the state working toward numerous access issues. A list of what the organization has done and is currently doing can be found on this page.

If you have any questions or concerns about access in Pennsylvania e-mail us at info@paclimbing.com.

The Access Fund in Pennsylvania

The Access Fund has been extremely involved in Pennsylvania. In the past , many initiatives The Access Fund had started proved to be extremely successfully. That being said, a great deal of initiatives are still pending and will require much effort in the days and years to come. The Access Fund’s mission is to involve the climbing community and keep climbers aware and abreast of the issues throughout the state. If you have any concerns or issues that need to be addressed contact The Access Fund or a regional coordinator listed below.

Access Fund Work in Pennsylvania:

2007

Work with Pennsylvania State Game Commission to recognize climbing at Boxcar Rocks.

Adopt-A-crag day at Boxcar Rocks to clean area and revitalize the trail system.

Worked on constructing new trails at areas in central and eastern Pennsylvania.

2006

Facilitated strategy-building conference call, provided resources, and edited “proposal” letter to Graymont Lime Company regarding opening Bellefonte Quarry, Pennsylvania to climbing. A place that has been closed to climbing since the late 1990s.

Discussed strategy with local climber, provided feedback on CMP, and provided letter of support to Lancaster County on the potential acquisition and opening of Safe Harbor, PA to climbing. The County informed the Access Fund that the project is still a few years from completion.

Communication and strategizing with members of C3PA regarding the closure of an area called Donation Rocks in Central Pennsylvania.

2005

Working with members of Pennsylvania Alliance of Climbers on private land issues

Worked with Pennsylvania Alliance of Climbers regarding potential easement or sale of property.

2004

Regional coordinator work to limit extend of Falcon closure at the Delaware Water Gap.

Regional coordinator work to adopt fixed anchor management plan at Delaware Water Gap.

Work with Mocanaqua climbing areas to draft original plan to allow climbing at all areas.

Work with Birdsboro Climbers Coalition.

Regional coordinator work with Nature Conservancy to allow climbing at Emmaus Boulders.

Work with Rothrock State Forest to recognize bouldering as an activity at Hunter Rocks.

Work with Michaux State Forest to discuss management of climbing at 20 areas throughout the region.

Worked with landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania to discuss land management plans and options to allow climbing on private lands.

This is a partial list of Access Fund involvements in Pennsylvania. If you would like to be involved in future initiatives or would like to be updated on future initiatives, e-mail a regional coordinator or contact us atinfo@paclimbing.com.

Note: This is copy from our old website we plan to update this with current info soon.